The Secret of Human Nature
by Octoberry
Summary: It's World War II. Schoolchildren find themselves stranded on an island...all are boys except one. They try to survive together but before they know it, changes begin to take place that will break them apart, and make survival even more inevitable...
1. Author's Note

Hi Guys!

This is my first fanfiction...so I'm a bit nervous!

But please read what I have so far and REVIEW. Make sure you're honest. I do not mind criticism! :)

I'll try to update it soon.

Look forward to hearing from you fellow fanfiction readers!

-Octoberry


	2. Lost at Sea

The thunder and lightning was overwhelming. Elaine shivered and tried to cover herself using her backpack. The waves began to become violent and caused the raft to be tossed all over.

"Be careful and stay away from the edge of the raft," said the pilot. "Otherwise, you'll be tossed into the sea."

Elaine shuddered at the thought. She had already escaped from death once; she didn't want to have to face it again. It was already past 11 pm according to her watch and her eyes began to droop until finally she fell prey to her drowsiness.

Suddenly, Elaine had the subconscious feeling that she was falling. And someone was shouting, "No!". She opened her eyes, and to her despair, found that she had fallen off the raft. It was now only a dot in the distance. A storm had started, the thunder and flashes of lightning overwhelmed Elaine. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks.

"No! Wait! Wait for me!", Elaine shouted.

Elaine began to swim desperately towards the raft. Somehow she had managed to hold onto her backpack. Using the backpack as a way to stay afloat, she furiously kicked with her feet. However, the waves were too powerful and kept pushing her back. Elaine began to realize that perhaps there was no hope for her…that she might as well stop trying and welcome death with open arms.

Almost, as if on cue, the storm began to die down. The sun came out, meaning it was now morning. The once terrifying waves submerged into the large ocean. Elaine looked around, hoping that there were no deathly sea creatures swimming near her. As she was scanning the ocean's surface, something caught her eye. A small bump with a lot of green fuzz in the distance. An island! Elaine swerved her backpack in its direction and frantically began to kick. There was still a chance that she could remain alive. After a few hours and several breaks, the island began to come closer. Elaine couldn't take it anymore; her body was numb and aching all over. Before she knew it, her eyelids fell and she went into a deep slumber.


	3. Stranded

Elaine awoke to find herself under the direct sunlight, her body aching, her throat parched and dry. She opened her eyes, but her vision was too blurry to make out the surroundings. Her eyelids still felt like lead and immediately closed again.

"She's waking!"

"Sh! Be quiet!"

Out of curiosity, Elaine cracked her eyes open a second time. Her vision was clearer. Hovering over her was boy wearing a school uniform, with a serious expression on his face. He had loosely tossed golden hair, and deep blue eyes. His features seemed to be perfectly sculpted.

"Am I in heaven?" mumbled Elaine unintentionally.

The boy smiled. "No, unfortunately, you are stranded on an island."

She closed her eyes and moved her hands around and felt the grainy sand beneath her. Elaine realized that she had made it to the island. And immediately all the previous events flooded into her brain. The plane crashing, being on the raft with the pilot and her classmates, falling off the raft…tears welled up in her eyes. She sat up quickly. But her head began to spin and she almost fell back down. The golden-haired boy caught her.

"Whoa! Slow down there! You're dehydrated!" he said, "Wait, let me go find water! Piggy! You stay here and make sure she's fine!"

"But I can't move, my asthma-" wheezed Piggy.

"Well sucks to your ass-mar!" shouted the golden-haired boy.

Elaine felt herself being laid back down on the sand. Suddenly she heard someone panting and puffing over her, she looked up to see a chubby boy with thick glasses. By what she'd heard, she assumed that this boy was Piggy. She looked away, irritated by his presence. Finally, the golden-haired boy came back with what seemed like two coconuts. He smashed them on the rock and ran over to Elaine. "Move over Piggy!" he demanded. Picking up Elaine, he gently laid her head on his lap, and tilted the coconut until its liquid emptied into her mouth. One by one, he took each coconut halve and did the same, until they were all done. Elaine felt like she had regained some strength. She sat up successfully, and looked at the golden-haired boy.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The golden-haired boy smiled, "You're welcome."

Elaine realized that she had not introduced herself, held out her hand and said, "I'm Elaine by the way."

The boy extended his hand and shook hers.

"Nice to meet you, Elaine. My name is Ralph."

Elaine smiled back shyly.

Piggy crawled over to the two, "And my name is Piggy," He wheezed.

Elaine nodded her head in acknowledgement.

She hadn't expected to meet any other people on the island, but she was happy she did. Now she wouldn't have to suffer alone.

While she was thinking, she felt something heavy being placed on her lap. She looked down to see it was her backpack. Soaking wet.

"You had this with you when you washed up on shore," Ralph said.

"Thank you!" replied Elaine. She opened the back pack and saw to her relief that everything was relatively dry.

"So how did you end up on this island?" asked Piggy.

Elaine looked up, "Who me?".

Piggy, in annoyance, rolled his eyes. "_Obviously_. Who else would I ask?"

Elaine glared at Piggy, "Well, you could have asked Ralph! Anyways, I was traveling to America because my town's mayor wanted all the children evacuated due to the war. But our plane crashed somehow. We all managed to remain alive by getting on the life boats that were on the airplane. While sleeping I fell off the raft. And…" Before she knew it, her eyes had filled with tears and she silently began to cry. How could she have been so careless to have fallen off the raft? How would she survive with Ralph and Piggy on this island? And if she managed to survive, what if they never got rescued?

Ralph placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry Elaine. I'll try my best to make sure you're comfortable here." Elaine looked at Ralph and gave him a weak smile. Hastily she wiped away her tears and turned to Ralph. "So how did you guys get here?"

"We were in the same plane as you," Ralph answered.

"You were? But I did not see you!" said Elaine.

"That's because the plane was quite large. Plus we were in a different section. Unfortunately, our raft had no adults on it. So naturally, we were all panicking causing our raft to topple over…and here we are. Stranded. We haven't found any of the other boys yet…" Ralph replied, looking off into the distance with a worried expression on his face.

As the implication of Ralph's statement dawned on her, "Wait, so you're saying that perhaps-"

"Everyone else died?" interrupted Ralph "Yea, I guess that could be possible. Piggy and I were planning to search the island just to see if anyone else is still alive. But then we found you."

"Oh, well why don't we go now? We probably will be able to search the entire island by tonight." Said Elaine.

"No you shouldn't go, you're still quite weak. Plus, we can't leave you here by yourself. It's not safe," replied Ralph. Piggy nodded in agreement. Elaine knew he meant well but for some reason it irritated her that they couldn't "leave her by herself". Just because she was a girl did not mean she was a helpless creature.

She knelt on her knees and turned to Ralph and said, "No, I'm completely fine. Come on Ralph, we can't waste time. There might be someone injured and alone. Let's go."

Ralph looked up, completely surprised by Elaine's sudden act of defiance. Deciding that Elaine probably knew what's best for her, he stood up along with Piggy. "Fine, if you say so."

Elaine stood up. The moment she stood up, she almost collapsed. Immediately, Ralph put his arm around her and smirked at her. He had an "I told you so" look on his face. Elaine rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Ralph. Thank you." Ralph let go of her. Once again, Elaine was pulled down by gravity. This time Ralph did not attempt to catch her.

"Ow!" she said as her bottom hit the sand. Piggy snickered and Ralph just crossed his arms and continued to smirk. Elaine was quite annoyed by Ralph's behavior. "All right, all right! I admit it! You were right! Happy?"

Ralph's face became serious, "I was just being concerned Elaine. No need to get annoyed."

"I'm getting annoyed because you couldn't leave me by myself since its 'unsafe'. I'm perfectly capable of handling any situation!" retorted Elaine.

"Oh I see what this is about. Elaine, I wasn't saying you're weak because you are a girl. I was saying it according to your _condition_. And furthermore, you couldn't even get up by yourself! How would you be able to defend yourself if some wild beast came from that jungle?" asked Ralph.

Elaine realized that he had a point. "Okay, sorry. I misinterpreted your concern. Since you are so troubled by my condition, would you mind helping me walk over to that tree over there? It's uncomfortable sitting directly underneath the sun." She pointed to a tree in the distance.

Piggy nodded and said "I agree with her, Ralph. It's getting really hot here."

Without a word, Ralph knelt down and put Elaine's arm around his neck, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Gradually the two stood up and Elaine, with Ralph's help, limped towards the tree.

When they reached the tree, Ralph helped Elaine walk over to a boulder under the shade. She sat down, and once again thanked Ralph for his help.

"You're welcome," he replied. "You're looking weak still, do you want more coconuts?"

Elaine cast her eyes downward; he had already helped her enough. Her parents had taught her never to ask too much of a person. She shook her head, "No. I'm fine, thanks."

Ralph looked at her inquisitively. "Are you sure? You don't look so great, Elaine."

Elaine remained silent. Ralph gave a small smile, "Well?"

Elaine looked up and said in a small voice, "You've already done a lot for me. I feel bad asking you for anything else-"

"It's fine!" Ralph interrupted. "I don't mind. I'm completely healthy; you're the one who is in an extremely feeble condition. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you. I'm going to go get the coconuts." And with that he walked off into the jungle.

Piggy puffing and panting staggered over and placed Elaine's backpack near her feet. "You almost forgot this." He said. Elaine pretended not to hear him.

A few minutes later, Ralph emerged from the forest, holding many coconuts.

Elaine followed him with her eyes. The way he carried himself was impressive. He had a regal appearance. A trait that was very rare in boys of her age. Elaine couldn't help but blush when Ralph noticed her studying him. She instantly moved her gaze to the ocean. He made no comment when he reached her. It didn't seem to bother him. Immediately, he went up to the boulder and smashed one of the coconuts. "Here," he said, handing the broken halves to her.

"Make sure to drink the juice and eat the flesh. It will help," Piggy said. Even though he was bothersome, he meant well and Elaine appreciated that.

"Thanks Piggy." She said smiling at him. Piggy at first seemed astonished but then smiled back. He went over to the pile of coconuts, took one, smashed it and began to gulp down the coconut juice.

Ralph put his hands on his hips and said, "Well I think you're good for now. So if you don't mind, I'm going to go into the lagoon for a swim. I'm burning!"

Elaine just nodded her head as she drank the coconut's liquid, to convey that she was fine. With that, Ralph walked over to the edge of the lagoon. Elaine still was looking at him from the corner of her eye. Ralph unbuttoned his polo, shook it off and then pulled off his undershirt. Elaine couldn't help but gasp.

"What's wrong?" asked Piggy. Elaine began to turn red and quickly hid her face behind the coconut pretending to drink it. "Nothing." She mumbled.

"You know? I think I'm going to go and join Ralph. I'm burning as well!" said Piggy and with that he barely jogged over to where Ralph had left his clothes.

As Ralph was getting ready to enter the lagoon, several thoughts were swimming inside his head. He hoped Elaine would recover soon. Otherwise it would be difficult to take care of her if her condition deteriorated. He didn't want to be responsible for anyone's…demise. And how would they be rescued? This island, however, wasn't such a bad place. It seemed like paradise. No adults, no school, no rules. And with that thought, he dove into the water.

Elaine noticed that Piggy didn't really "join" Ralph but instead took off his socks and shoes and was testing the water with his toe. Then without hesitation, he took off his top and undershirt and walked into the water until he was neck-deep and sat down. The she heard something about "My auntie says..." and Ralph replying "Well sucks to your auntie!". He really needed to come up with a new catchphrase…


	4. A Leader is Proclaimed

NOTE: This is the only chapter that has excerpts from the actual book itself. I know it is not that original but I thought that was the best way to make a connection with the piece of work that has inspired me! Of course all rights go to William Golding! :)

Elaine was leaning against the tree and had her eyes closed. She was in complete bliss, until Piggy's voice disrupted it. "Elaine, Ralph is a complete genius! Look what we found?"

Elaine opened her eyes, irritated by the disturbance. Piggy's eyes signaled for her to look down, in his hands was a pink conch shell. "A conch shell? How does that make Ralph a genius?" Elaine asked with a sarcastic look.

"Elaine! It's not about the fact that he _found_ the conch shell; it's what he's going to _do_ with the conch shell! He's going to use it as a way to attract any other people on this island, by blowing through it." Piggy replied in an aggravated tone.

"Oh…well give it a try then and let's see if his plan works."

Ralph meanwhile was getting out of the lagoon and was making his way to the tree. Elaine couldn't help but stare at him. His body had a lean but muscular built, perfect for being a boxer. However, when she looked at his face, he had a softness about his mouth and eyes. A physical trait that a boxer would never have. His bare chest glistened with drops of water and his hair glowed in the sun. His eyes were the color of the ocean and seemed to shine brightly like jewels. At that moment, it made him seem even more attractive.

Ralph was holding the undershirt and polo shirt. Quickly he put his polo back on, and sighed with relief. He dropped the undershirt on the sand, and walked over to Piggy and Elaine. Piggy handed the conch to Ralph. Ralph put it to his mouth and tried to blow through it. No sound.

_Doubtfully, Ralph laid the small end of the shell against his mouth and blew. There came a rushing sound from its mouth but nothing more. Ralph wiped the salt water off his lips and tried again, but the shell remained silent._

"You know? My friend had one of those. He used to blow it for fun!" Said Piggy eagerly.

Ralph studied at the conch and then asked, "How did your friend blow it?"

_"He kind of spat."_

_Ralph pursed his lips and squirted air into the shell, which emitted a low, farting noise. This amused both boys_ and Elaine_ so much that Ralph went on squirting for some minutes, between bouts of laughter._

_"He blew from down here."_

_Ralph grasped the idea and hit the shell with air from his diaphragm. Immediately the thing sounded. A deep, harsh note boomed under the palms, spread through the intricacies of the forest and echoed back from the pink granite of the mountain. Clouds of birds rose from the treetops, and something squealed and ran in the undergrowth. Ralph took the shell away from his lips._

_"Gosh!"_

_His ordinary voice sounded like a whisper after the harsh note of the conch. He laid the conch against his lips, took a deep breath and blew once more. The note boomed again: and then at his firmer pressure, the note, fluking up an octave, became a strident blare more penetrating than before. Piggy was shouting something, his face pleased, his glasses flashing. The birds cried, small animals scattered. Ralph's breath failed; the note dropped the octave, became a low dubber, was a rush of air._

_The conch was silent, a gleaming tusk; Ralph's face was dark with breathlessness and the air over the island was full of bird-clamor and echoes ringing._

_"I bet you can hear that for miles."_

_Ralph found his breath and blew a series of short blasts. _

_Piggy exclaimed: "There's one!"_

_A child had appeared among the palms, about a hundred yards along the beach. He was a boy of perhaps six years, sturdy and fair, his clothes torn, his face covered with a sticky mess of fruit._

Ralph went and sat down on a rock next to Elaine and resumed blowing through the conch.

Piggy went up the boy and asked his name. A small reply was heard, "Johnny." Johnny went and sat down on a fallen palm tree. Gradually, more and more boys began to come. Following Johnny, they went and sat on the fallen palm trees as well. At one point, two identical boys came and flung themselves down in front of Ralph. Panting and smiling, they seemed to be like dogs.

_Piggy bent his flashing glasses to them and could be heard between the blasts,_

_repeating their names._

_"Sam, Eric, Sam, Eric."_

_Then he got muddled; the twins shook their heads and pointed at each other and the crowd laughed. At last Ralph ceased to blow and sat there, the conch trailing from one hand, his head bowed on his knees. As the echoes died away so did the laughter, and there was silence._

This whole time, Elaine had been quietly sitting and watching, and realized that not a single girl had come. It started to worry her. She wouldn't have minded if she was the only girl amongst Ralph and Piggy. But with so many boys, she no longer felt that way.

As she was thinking, she noticed Ralph turn towards her. At first Elaine thought he was looking at her but when she looked at him, she saw he was staring intently into the distance. She followed his eyes and saw that there was a group of boys in black walking towards them. It was almost like a procession.

As they got closer, Elaine noticed that the group was walking in two straight lines. They were wearing shorts and shirts, and over it were wearing a long black gown which went down to their ankles. They wore square black caps and silver badges on their gowns. One boy however, had a gold badge, and Elaine assumed that he was the leader.

_"Where's the man with the trumpet?"_

_Ralph, sensing his sun-blindness, answered him._

_"There's no man with a trumpet. Only me."_

_The boy came close and peered down at Ralph, screwing up his face as he did so. What he saw of the fair-haired boy with the creamy shell on his knees did not seem to satisfy him. He turned quickly, his black cloak circling._

_"Isn't there a ship, then?"_

"No we're having a meeting. You can join us." Ralph replied calmly. The boy turned back around. Out of curiosity, Elaine observed him. He was tall and thin. His hair looked like a fire blazing underneath the cap. At the moment, he had scrunched up his face and looked quite ugly. Within a few minutes, his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the sun, and he relaxed his face. He had freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheeks. In Elaine's opinion, he was somewhat handsome. There was something about him that intrigued Elaine. He had a confident stance, and seemed to not care about what people thought about him. He turned and his eyes met with Elaine's. She noticed that his eyes were blue as well, except, they were a light grayish blue. Elaine felt as if two glaciers were staring back at her. Even in the heat, Elaine couldn't help but feel chills down her back. The boy leered at Elaine, causing her to instinctively move closer to Ralph.

The boy furrowed his eyebrows and then turned to the rest of his group. _"Choir! Stand still!"_

The group of black clad boys immediately straightened into one line, as they were frying under the sun. Some were desperately asking to go in the shade, but the leader just ignored them. All of a sudden, there was a "thump", everyone looked to see the source of the sound. Lying on the ground was a boy with dark brown hair, he appeared to be unconscious. Elaine let out a gasp.

"Simon is always fainting," the red-headed boy said casually. He turned to Ralph, "So, aren't there any adults?"

"Nope," Ralph replied. The choir leader sat down on a trunk looking around and said, "Well then, seems like we're on our own."

Piggy, partially hidden behind Ralph spoke, "That is why Ralph decided to have this meeting. So we could all come together and figure out what to do next, how to survive, how to get rescued. I've gone around and asked everyone's names. That boy over there, he's Johnny. Then those two are Sam and Eric. Wait, no _he's_ Sam and _he's _Eric. Wait no you're Sam?"

"I'm Sam-"

" 'n I'm Eric."

"And I'm Ralph," said Ralph.

_"We got most names," said Piggy. "Got 'em just now."_

"We don't need to be known by our first names, that's lame." Said the red-headed boy. "I'm Jack, but call me Merridew. I like it better."

Ralph turned to look at him and realized that this guy was one with his own independent thinking.

_"Then," went on Piggy, "That boy-I forget-"_

"Oh shut up Fatty!" spat out Merridew. "Just shut up!"

The boys began to snicker.

"His name is not _Fatty_, it's Piggy!" replied Ralph angrily.

"Haha Piggy?"

"Well that's not a surprise!"

Pretty soon, the island echoed with laughter as the boys hooted at Piggy's expense. Piggy looked down in shame; Elaine couldn't help but feel pity for him. She glared at Jack as he was laughing, doubled over on the sand. "_What a jerk!"_ she thought to herself. Already, she had developed feelings of aversion for him.

Finally the laughter died down, and the introductions continued. One boy, with almost jet black hair, mumbled that his name was Roger. The boy who had fainted had now recovered, gave a half-smile and said his name was Simon.

Jack then spoke up, "We have to find a way to be rescued." A murmur traveled through the group of boys.

"Quiet!" said Ralph sternly, "In order to effectively figure out something, we need to have a chief."

"Yea! A chief!"

"That's exactly what we need."

"Obviously, I am perfect for the position because I'm chapter chorister _and _head boy. Plus, I can sing in C sharp." said Jack, proudly.

Once again a murmur arose. "Well, I can-" for a moment Ralph hesitated.

The dark, mysterious boy spoke up, "Let's have a vote" he said. His voice was very deep and almost sounded like a growl. Elaine found it a bit creepy.

"Yea!"

"Let's vote for our chief!"

"Great idea!"

Elaine began to worry hoping that Jack would not be chosen. She noticed that Jack didn't seem to like the idea and was trying to protest but couldn't be heard over the clamor. She had no reason to worry however, because the boys seemed to want Ralph as the leader. Even though it was apparent that Piggy was the most intelligent and Jack was the most capable, there was something about Ralph's silence that made him seem like the perfect candidate. Perhaps it was his attractive appearance or calm demeanor that caused the boys to choose him.

"The guy with the conch!"

"Yea! We want Ralph!"

Ralph raised his hand to silence the crowd. "Alright, then let's have a vote. Who votes for Jack?"

Almost out of fear and compliance, the choir raised their hands. "And who votes for me?"

Immediately, the entire group of boys sitting in front of Ralph put up their hands. Elaine raised her hand as well and in an act of defiance, turned to look at Jack. He scowled and looked away.

Piggy, on the other hand, had not raised his hand. Elaine leaned back, so she was behind Ralph. "Psst! Piggy!" she said as she poked and prodded him. Piggy shrugged off her hand, irritated; he turned to her, "What?"

"Raise your hand!" she whispered.

"I don't want too!" he whispered back ferociously.

"But Ralph is better than Jack!" she snapped.

Piggy's eyes widened has he comprehended Elaine's statement, and grudgingly raised his hand.

Ralph calmly began to count, even though the results of the election were quite clear. Then he spoke, "Well it looks like I'm the leader."

The boys, including the choir, all clapped with delight. Elaine swelled with pride and glanced over at Jack. His face was cherry-red and he seemed to be fuming.

Ralph looked at Jack and said, "Well the choir is yours. So-"

The boys began to blurt out random suggestions. Once again, Ralph raised his hand, for silence.

"_Jack_ is the leader therefore he gets to choose what the choir should be. What do you want them to be, Jack?"

Jack sat up straight, "The hunters."

Ralph nodded his head and then smiled at Jack. Elaine waited for Jack's reaction, and to her surprise, saw that he smiled back as well.


End file.
